All the issues around which the grand old party wanted to fight the May 10 assembly elections have been put on the backburner as party state president DK Shivakumar in damage control mode took up a temple run.
In its Karnataka assembly poll manifesto, which was released on May 2, the Congress said it is committed to take firm and decisive action against individuals and organisations such as the Bajrang Dal and the PFI "spreading hatred" among communities on the grounds of caste and religion.
The Bajrang Dal chief was picked up by the police under provisions of Section 153A of the Indian Penal Code. The section deals with promoting enmity between different groups on ground of religion, race, place of birth, residence, language, etc., and doing acts prejudicial to maintenance of harmony.
There is no question of banning the Bajrang Dal if it plays by the rulebook and behaves itself, senior Congress leader M Veerappa Moily said on Friday, as his party's manifesto proposing to outlaw the outfit continues to come under fire from the Bharatiya Janata Party.
The Samajwadi Party on Tuesday demanded a ban on Bajrang Dal in the wake of attacks on churches and missionaries in Orissa and Karnataka, saying when there is a ban on SIMI the same action can be taken against the saffron outfit.
The NIA reportedly registered a First Information Report on Wednesday regarding the murder case of Bajrang Dal activist Harsha Nagaraj, also known as Harsha Hindu.
"The findings of National Commission for Minorities and National Women's Commission on communal violence in Karnataka have established the diabolical role of Bajrang Dal. Dal leaders have openly claimed responsibility for attacks on Christians in Orissa and Karnataka," Paswan said accusing it of espousing a divisive agenda.
Addressing a press conference in Jabalpur in Madhya Pradesh, the Congress Rajya Sabha member termed Bajrang Dal -- the youth wing of Vishwa Hindu Parishad -- a goondon ki jamat (group of goons).
In its poll manifesto for May 10 assembly polls in Karnataka, the Congress said it is committed to take firm and decisive action against individuals and organisations such as the Bajrang Dal and the Popular Front of India (PFI) "spreading hatred" among communities on grounds of caste and religion.
The police have arrested 10 persons, including a Bajrang Dal member, for allegedly vandalising the Congress's office in Jabalpur, Madhya Pradesh, during a protest against the party's poll promise in Karnataka to act against the right-wing outfit, an official said on Friday.
The demand for imposing a ban on Sangh Parivar outfits Bajrang Dal and Vishwa Hindu Parishas on Monday gained momentum with the Congress saying these organisations were a "suitable case" for such action. "Bajrang Dal is a suitable case for ban... Also the VHP," Congress spokesperson Jayanthi Natarajan said in Delhi.
In the manifesto for the polls released in Bengaluru by Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge in the presence of the state unit chief D K Shivakumar and Congress Legislature Party leader Siddaramaiah and others, the party reiterated its five guarantees: Gruha Jyothi, Gruha Lakshmi, Anna Bhagya, Yuva Nidhi and Shakti.
Bajrang Dal Karnataka unit convener Mahendra Kumar was arrested in Mangalore on Friday night.He has been held under Sections 153 A and 120 B. The police have taken suo motu congnisance in this case. The Bajrang Dal has been allegedly responsible for the wave of violence that rocked Mangalore recently. Kumar has been in the news for speaking out against forcible conversions.
Four people, allegedly associated with the Bajrang Dal have been arrested in connection with the assault on two persons at Nargund in Gadag district, one of whom succumbed to injuries.
When his attention was drawn to the statements of Biju Patnaik, Sharad Yadav and other prominent leaders who have described Bajrang Dal as a violent organization, Prasad said that there was ideological difference but BJP does not agree with that perception.
'Ram Sene or Bajrang Dal were supposed to be fringe elements, but with the BJP in power, they have become mainstream elements.' 'The government is either keeping quiet or indirectly supporting them.'
Muthu-ur-Rehman, a journalist who was arrested in connection with the recently busted assassination plot in Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka, was assigned to kill a Bajrang Dal leader in Hubli, according to confessional statements of the accused.According to their statements, the journalist and six others were assigned to kill Bajrang Dal leader Gany Jartakar, as they believed that he had become a threat to the Muslim community.
On the issue of whether chapters related to the first Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh chief Keshav Baliram Hedgewar are being removed in Karnataka, he said India is a land of diversity.
The Commission in its report submitted to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh a few days back said, 'The state must keep a close watch on the activities of all such organisations that have contributed to the breakdown of communal harmony there. Remedial action, including a ban and prosecution should be initiated. Communal harmony should be maintained at all costs.'
An enrolment of 25 lakh youths to mark the completion of 25 years and various other programmes have been drawn up for the celebrations that will end up with training camps in all 938 districts of the country in December, 2009. The outfit says that it would give an open call to the government at the Delhi rally to ban their outfit 'engaged in nationalist activities'.
"Alleged Bajrang Dal elements were involved in vandalising churches, prayer halls and schools," Special Secretary (Internal Security) in the Ministry M L Kumawat said after camping in the violence-hit areas of the state for two days.
Two more persons were arrested in the Bajrang Dal activist murder case in Shivamogga, where district authorities have extended the prohibitory orders till Friday.
According to police sources, the arrested included Khasif (aged 30) and Syed Nadim (20), who are residents of Shivamogga, about 250 kms from Bengaluru.
According to official sources, there was stone pelting when the body of the deceased Harsha was being taken from District McGann Hospital in Shivamogga.
Some of them also carried pictures of Lord Hanuman as party workers and leaders assembled at Indira Bhawan, the state Congress office, and distributed sweets, threw gulal powder and burst firecrackers.
Raut said that the victory of the Congress in Karnataka has opened a door for the party in the whole country and the election results show that dictatorship has been defeated.
If the Bajrang Dal comes to be viewed as a suspected terrorist organisation, the first to feel the pressure and adverse effect will be the supporters of the organisation in the Hindu diaspora abroad. It is in their interest to exercise pressure on the Bajrang Dal and drive some sense into it
'The Muslims in Karnataka are safe and secure. The state government belongs to everybody.'
Accusing Congress of 'abuse culture', Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday urged the people of Karnataka to punish those indulging in abuse, while casting their vote in polling booths on May 10.
While most members do not seem to be apologetic about the incident, the Bajrang Dal reacted strongly to the attack. Karnataka Bajrang Dal chief Mahendra Kumar told rediff.com's Vicky Nanjappa that the protest by the Shri Ram Sena was indecent and added that the outfit does not have the backing of the Sangh Parivar.
'Siddaramaiah was openly taking on the BJP's communal agenda, which very few non-BJP politicians do.'
According to police, the alleged stone pelters came on two bikes and sped off. Following the incident, heavy police deployment has been put in place.
Bajrang Dal activists are suspected to be behind the crime, sources said.
The Congress on Saturday made a stunning comeback in Karnataka ousting the Bharatiya Janata Party from its lone southern citadel with a comfortable majority in a morale booster win that will be key for reviving its electoral fortunes ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha polls.
In his report, he blames the Karnataka government entirely for the church attack fiasco. In this interview with rediff.com's Vicky Nanjappa, Justice M F Saldanha says that there is not a single incident of conversion that has taken place in Karnataka. He further goes on to add that Chief Minister B S Yeddyurappa holds a public office and cannot continue to behave like a Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangha pracharak.
Given that the BJP made all these moves and that these moves were presumably approved by Modi if not directed by him, who should accept the responsibility for the party's rout? asks Aakar Patel.
Syed Firdaus Ashraf/Rediff.com does a deep dive into four elections when Narendra Modi resorted to anti-Muslim fervour and points out that Hindu-Muslim politics does not necessarily mean victory for the BJP.
Khera told reporters in Hyderabad that the views of the newly-elected MLAs have been elicited and the central leadership is seized of the matter.
The poll panel also referred to the instances of "inappropriate vocabulary and language" used during the ongoing campaign by persons, "in particular, by those invested with the statutory status of star campaigner".
The Bharatiya Janata Party's comprehensive defeat to the Congress in Karnataka where the two parties ran a campaign of contrasts has left the ruling party much to ponder as the two rivals are facing a direct contest in three more state polls this year in the run-up to the all-important 2024 Lok Sabha elections.
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